2. Un-locking Intellectual Capital

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how organizations work with IC when it enters the organization from an accounting or measurement perspective. More specifically the paper will investigate in depth the IC ‘lock-in’ process to accounting, which occurs when IC is introduced as a measurement practice in companies which are new to IC, and if and how IC can be ‘un-locked’ through a more strategic managerial approach, promoting IC management practices. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, the phenomenon of ‘lock-in’ is used to conduct a longitudinal analysis of the design and implementation of IC practices in an Italian firm which was initially a ‘newcomer’ to measuring and managing IC. The IC measurement system adopted by the company was developed using an interventionist research approach whereby one researcher was directly involved in designing and implementing the system. To interpret the case study we use Callon’s ‘four moments of translation’ (Callon, 1986) which permits us to follow the actors in their construction and deconstruction of the IC concept and practices. Originality/value – We show that when accounting for IC is the point of entrance into a firm new to IC, the firm remains, for a period of time, locked-in to measuring IC. However, firms can be freed from a narrow accounting perspective and over time allow more attention to be paid to the process of mobilizing IC, leading to management actions which are not possible while IC remains ‘locked-in’ to accounting. However, we also find that the ‘lock-in’ to measuring IC is not always detrimental because, at times, the ‘lock-in’ is necessary to allow actors to make sense of IC. Practical implications – By understanding the lessons learnt from the case, other organizations who implement IC practices can become aware that the ‘lock-in’ phenomenon can take place and so, devise strategies to avoid the possible detrimental aspects of ‘lock-in’ and understand when it may be beneficial to do so. This can help managers recognise that to be effective more attention needs to be paid to the process of managing and mobilizing IC